Fading Facades
by heartforhire
Summary: Tsubaki Miyako becomes a member of Team7, only to realize adversary Uchiha Sasuke is assigned to the same team. Past incidents force their ideals to clash & their teamwork to falter, but is wiping such a stained slate clean truly impossible? Sasuke x OC.
1. Adversaries

**Chapter 1 : Adversaries**

"All right, class, listen up!"

Iruka let out a heavy sigh, rubbing the long scar across his nose gently as he glanced around the large classroom. Young as he was, even he, a recently promoted Jounin, could not quiet the exhilaration flooding throughout the young students before him. Teenagers quickly snatched seats, and within seconds, the classroom was quiet and orderly, though anyone could have noticed that the prolonged, intense excitement was still present.

"Starting today," Iruka began, brushing a strand of dark brown hair from his attentive black eyes as he paced around the stone room, "all of you are actual shinobi."

At once, the silence began to disappear, replaced instantly with exciting squeals and uncontrollable twitching. Iruka frowned slightly.

"However," he continued, his voice significantly louder now, hushing the enthusiasm once more, "you are all still Genin, and this role is not to be taken lightly. In order to actually help your own village, you will be assigned various missions. As a result, we are to divide you all into three-member teams, and each team will be assigned a Jounin as their sensei. Now, this particular class consists of a total of twenty-eight students, so one team will have four Genin. Is this all understood?"

"Yes, Iruka-sensei!" the class chimed impatiently.

As soon as Iruka began reading out names, a young, blonde boy in the very back of the room turned in his chair to face the pink-haired girl sitting next to him. He grinned, his cheeks flushing a light pink as he completely tuned out his sensei's words.

"Team seven!" Iruka continued, his young voice projecting easily in the spacious room. "Your team will be a four-member team—Uzumaki Naruto! Haruno Sakura! Uchiha Sasuke! Tsubaki Miyako!"

The blonde boy's grin widened significantly as soon as he heard Sakura's name. Naruto turned to look at Sakura once more, only to realize that her cheeks were also flushed, but the reaction was undoubtedly directed elsewhere. Naruto's bright, sapphire eyes dulled with disappointment and his lips pursed with dislike as he surveyed his other teammate.

Uchiha Sasuke had completely ignored the young girl's flirtatious smile, crimson cheeks, and batting eyelashes. Naruto's frown deepened as he glared at his fellow teammate, whose black eyes remained emotionless as he heard the names of his teammates, and his brain searched wildly for any reasons on how the suave student in front of him had managed to attract the attention of so many kunoichi in the past. No doubt Sasuke had always been the class's top Genin, having always surpassed the academy's students in ninjutsu, but other than that, Naruto couldn't seem to comprehend any other positive characteristics. Uchiha Sasuke seldom spoke, though when one did come across such an extraordinary occurrence, he nearly always gave a one-worded response.

Naruto craned his neck back in an effort to glance around the room, his azure eyes searching eagerly for the fourth member of their team. At once, his keen eyesight located the correct name tag, but his heart sank faintly as he recognized the young kunoichi sitting behind the tag, the student known as Tsubaki Miyako.

There were a number of peculiar attributes to Miyako. Perhaps it was the fact that her personality, in fact, was exceptionally similar to that of Uchiha Sasuke's. She was talented, her shuriken performance and test scores only falling short only to none other than Sasuke. Miyako was also quiet and reserved, though she was normally more verbal than Sasuke. Her glistening amber eyes were her most fascinating attribute, as they never seemed to dull. Long, dark eyelashes brushed against her layered black bangs, and she merely blinked as she too heard the names of her fellow teammates. Naruto cocked his head to one side as he continued to survey her, clearly befuddled by the mask she wore around her mouth, which hid the remainder of her face, providing her with an enigmatic, and at the same time, an uneasy presence.

Naruto's attention was brought back to earth by Iruka's voice, which had increased in volume, signaling the end of team assignment.

"You are all to proceed to the village square," Iruka instructed, reviewing the students one last time. "From there, you will each be assigned a Jounin sensei, who will be the source of your team's information as more importantly, your missions. The more missions you complete, the more experience you will obtain, and undoubtedly, the more advantages you will have when the time comes to advance as Chunin. That's all for now, class dismissed."

* * *

><p>"So… I'm the unlucky Jounin who gets assigned to four Genin rather than three."<p>

Four heads looked up simultaneously as a tall, lean figure approached them along the rooftop of the village square. Each Genin sat a considerable distance from each other, with the exception of Sakura sitting merely inches away from Sasuke. Naruto had decided that it wasn't worth sitting next to his all-too-quiet rival just to lessen his distance to the cute, emerald-eyed Sakura, though his unhappy glares clearly revealed the internal battle with his own thoughts.

Miyako glanced up as the Jounin stopped before them, and her eyes widened in curiosity as she noticed a black mask tied across the lower half of his face, an appearance unmistakably like her own.

Despite the fact that a significant portion of his face was hidden and that his hair was an unusual gray, the four of them could tell at first glance that he was still young, perhaps in his mid or late twenties. Like the rest of them, his forehead protector bore the symbol of Konoha, the Leaf Village from which each and every one of them had been raised, but unlike them, the headband slumped downwards, covering his left eye from view. Just by glancing at his right eye, however, one could easily tell that he was smiling.

Naruto stood up instantly and crossed his arms across his chest, a deep scowl spread across his face.

"Where have you been?" he demanded. "All the other students left with their instructors nearly an hour ago!"

The Jounin brought a gloved hand to his chin and rubbed it thoughtfully. "Well, I got a bit lost."

Naruto glowered and shifted his forehead protector edgily. He had never been the type to wait, especially not when it came to training.

"So," the Jounin said, leaning lazily against a pillar and folding his arms, his one eye searching the cloudless sky. "Let's introduce ourselves…with say, your name, your likes and dislikes, dreams and goals, anything… starting on the right."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, her green eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why don't you introduce yourself first, sensei?"

"Oh… me?" he replied airily, bringing his attention back to the situation. "I'm Hatake Kakashi. I don't see any point in telling you my likes or dislikes… my dreams for the future? Hmm… and I have quite a number of hobbies…"

Kakashi said all this as if he were mumbling words to himself, causing three more eyebrows to raise in addition to Sakura's.

Naruto stood up instantly and cleared his throat; eagerness practically radiated from his body. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, but I dislike waiting three minutes for the ramen to cook the most. And my dream is to become Hokage and have the people of Konoha acknowledge my existence!"

Miyako noticed the tiny movement in Kakashi's facial structure that had indicated a small smile underneath the mask. The other Genin said nothing as Kakashi merely nodded and turned his attention to the dark-haired boy sitting several feet next to Naruto.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he said clearly, his voice void of any emotion whatsoever. Amber eyes flickered, but the uneasiness disappeared within a blink. "There are plenty of things I dislike, and at the same time, I don't really like anything. My dream is more of an objective, which is to resurrect my clan and… to kill a certain man."

There was a brief silence following Sasuke's ominous answer, but Kakashi merely nodded again; his still composure indicated that he had heard nothing surprising.

Sakura was next. She blushed innocently before speaking, her olive eyes practically glowing in admiration as she glimpsed at Sasuke, causing the frown on Naruto's face to deepen.

"I'm Haruno Sakura," she said in a quiet voice, twiddling her thumbs anxiously. "What I like is… or well, _who_ I like… my dreams… err…"

She paused, glancing over at Sasuke once more before giggling. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, and, after waiting a few seconds to ensure that she had finished her introduction and soon concluding that she had, gave another terse nod.

His eyes flickered in surprise as he noticed a similar, dark mask on the young kunoichi's face. Her long, dark eyelashes fluttered as she too, like Kakashi, assumed that Sakura had finished speaking.

"Tsubaki Miyako," she said softly. "I enjoy starting the day off before sunrise… mm, I dislike noisy and crowded environments. I don't have a dream or ambition in particular, but I do hope to increase my strength and skills in order to become an asset to this village."

Coffee orbs gleamed in the sunlight as she blinked, allowing it to look as if she was smiling through her eyes alone. Kakashi paused momentarily, his eyes flickering from one Genin to the other, and then nodded.

"All right, that's it for introductions. Tomorrow, we will begin our duties as shinobi. Be sure to get a full night's rest, and meet by the forest entrance tomorrow morning. You are dismissed."

* * *

><p>"Increase your strengths and skills? To become an vital asset to this village?"<p>

The deep, sardonic voice caused the young kunoichi to cease walking. Within an instant, a figure had appeared a couple feet in front of her, hands tucked into his pockets, a wild smirk pasted against his lips.

"Tch," he snickered, his black eyes flashing mockingly. "Too embarrassed to spit out what actually happened?"

The kunoichi's shoulders shrugged downwards as she sighed heavily, cocking her head to one side as she recognized the young shinobi in front of her.

"Uchiha," she said exasperatedly, rolling her eyes. "You've never spoken to me once at the academy… what's changed so suddenly?"

"Ironic, isn't it?" he sneered. "How the two of us were assigned to the same team, that is… I never thought you would've become this pathetic. Then again, it was pretty humiliating, the way my clan completely annihilated yours."

Miyako's eyes flashed angrily, yet she remained still. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, his black eyes gleaming maliciously.

"It seems like I touched a nerve," he snickered.

"Mm," she began thoughtfully, her lips curling into a wry smirk beneath her mask. "If I remember correctly, the Uchiha clan was also eradicated, by one of their own, actually, and in a single night at that… so I believe you aren't in a position to argue such a point."

A single shuriken whizzed soundlessly at her face, disappearing and reappearing in less than the time it took for her to blink. Miyako lifted a gloved hand and caught the shuriken almost lazily, twirling it between her fingers, her smirk widening as she noticed the fury beneath those dark eyes.

"Don't you _dare_ let the name Uchiha spill from your mouth so easily," he snarled, eyes flashing threateningly. "Don't think that you're stronger just because you hide behind that useless mask, Tsubaki. I could rip it off anytime… besides, your pitiful clan will always and inevitably be considered beneath ours…"

"Uchiha," Miyako replied coolly as she tossed the shuriken aside, completely ignoring his threat. "If you happen to loathe me so much, then you'd be clever enough to not remove my mask. Since you're already so familiar with my clan, I'm sure you understand the duties behind such an action."

Sasuke said nothing, but his mouth was still curled into a snarl, connoting the fact that she watch her words. He scoffed again, and without another word, turned around and leaped into the forest, out of sight.

It hadn't surprised her that their first encounter—perhaps maybe their last, judging from the conclusion it reached—didn't consist of an offer to leave the past behind and start anew on a clean, blank slate. Though of course, Miyako thought warily as she watched the clouds pass across the clear, open sky, the chances that she and Sasuke resolved anything were about the same as the chances the Uchiha brothers would arrive at a peaceful agreement: miniscule. Miyako shook her head gently, allowing the cool zephyr to loosen wisps of hair from her ponytail, and heaved another sigh, continuing along the dusty road as if nothing irregular had interrupted her walk.


	2. Motives

**Chapter 2 : Motives**

"One of the first lessons we must all learn as shinobi—"

"—is to be punctual," Sakura interrupted, not bothering to keep her voice low. "Sensei, why are you always late?"

Kakashi chuckled. "Well, today was an exception. Today, I got lost on… the road of life."

Naruto snorted. Sakura sighed exasperatedly, her pink hair ruffling in the wind as she tucked a stray strand behind her headband.

"Anyways, today, you four are going to learn how to correctly maintain your chakra," Kakashi continued, "and you are to do that through tree climbing." He indicated with his gloved hand. "Perhaps a demonstration is in order."

All four Genin immediately turned their attention to their instructor. Next to Hokage, the Jounin status was the highest rank a shinobi could possibly achieve; not only was a Jounin exceptionally talented, but she had realized overnight that though Hatake Kakashi seemed bored a good majority of the time, he was the son of Konoha's White Fang, and was thus undoubtedly gifted.

"Tree climbing?" Naruto asked, raising a curious, blonde eyebrow. "How's that supposed to help us maintain chakra?"

Kakashi simply smiled. He approached the nearest tree, paused for a few seconds before it, and then lifted his right leg and placed it sideways along the trunk. Adjusting his body so that it was perpendicular to the tree, Kakashi stuck his hands into his pockets and walked against the surface almost lazily. Before long, he was hanging upside down from the nearest branch, his feet glued to the wood beneath, or rather, above.

"By focusing and directing a bit of your chakra to solely your feet, you can do the same," Kakashi answered, staring into Naruto's blue eyes, which were sparkling in admiration.

He drew out a handful of kunai from his pocket and thrust them towards his apprehensive students.

"Pick a tree, and then use those to mark how high you get, and then go from there," Kakashi said, closing his eyes as he released the chakra from his feet, flipped over mid-air, and landed gracefully on his feet. "Good luck."

Naruto's mouth twitched as he caught Sasuke's eyes. The two frowned at each other, and in an instant, began racing towards the nearest trees. Sakura and Miyako caught each other's eyes and smiled, both chuckling from the boys' eagerness to compete.

Miyako twirled the kunai handle between her fingers and shut both eyes in an attempt to focus, but after merely seconds of concentrating on her chakra flow, she heard a light giggle.

Sakura was sitting on the highest branch of her tree, her slim legs dangling enthusiastically in the air. Kakashi raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed, and chuckled.

"Well, it looks like we know who's best at maintaining their chakra flow," he said lightly, turning to his other three students. "Naruto, it might be difficult for you to become Hokage if you can't perform a simple task like this… and it looks like the Uchiha heir isn't so tough either. And Miyako, your clan is practically—"

A single kunai whizzed through the air and pierced the ground beneath, stopping Kakashi from completing his sentence. Miyako was dangling upside down, using nothing but her two feet for support, in the exact position Kakashi had been minutes before. Her lips parted into a small smile as she positioned herself right side-up, sitting comfortably on top of the branch; the rest of the team had already learned how to read her emotions through merely the expressions that shone in her eyes.

"It's just like you said, sensei. Our clan has always found the topic of chakra control important," she said. Her smile widened. "But I do remember reading somewhere that females generally learn how to control their chakra a bit faster than males... so I guess I was lucky this time."

Kakashi nodded. "True - females have smaller structures, so directing chakra flow to specific locations is easier." He turned, now speaking to all of them at once. "After a bit more practice, if you apply a tad more chakra to your feet, walking on water won't be a problem. Once you completely master the chakra control concept, however, you can even communicate between allies… but that's a feat that even trained Jounin have difficulty doing. Mm, well, it looks like it's just you two now, Naruto, Sasuke."

But even as he spoke, the two Genin had already made more than one attempt to walk sideways up their tree trunks. Both were fiercely determined not to be the last Genin to accomplish the task set for them, and their willpower allowed both to walk much farther up the tree than their previous attempts.

"Naruto, you're doing much better than Uchiha is," Miyako called, her lips curving into a smirk.

Naruto grinned, while Sasuke glared menacingly at her. He bit down his lower lip, clearly frustrated, and attempted again. Meanwhile, Naruto had approached Sakura, asking for advice. The two began talking animatedly, and the smirk beneath Miyako's mask merely widened as she continued to watch Sasuke struggle stubbornly. Knowing him, asking for advice was the last thing on his mind.

Kakashi had welcomed the shade beneath a particularly large tree, and was sitting lazily beneath it, using his knees to prop open a book.

"Why don't you ask Miyako-chan?" Naruto suggested to Sasuke, as Miyako leaped down from her tree.

"I'd never ask someone as low-class as her," he snarled in return.

There was a long, tense silence after Sasuke's retort. Naruto and Sakura both froze, and even Kakashi had raised his eyes from his book.

"Rather than fume with jealousy, I suggest you put your brilliant Uchiha mind to work," said Miyako coldly, pursing her lips into a thin line.

She sat next to Sakura, who had an alarmed look on her face as she glanced from Sasuke to Miyako. Kakashi sighed deeply before returning to his book, and Naruto was merely puzzled, but seeing how high up Sasuke's kunai marks were reaching, he refocused his attention instantly.

"Um, Miyako-chan," Sakura began hesitantly. "I'm just curious—"

Miyako grimaced. She had assumed that everyone in Konoha was aware of the bitterness that had formed between the Uchiha and the Tsubaki clan. Despite the fact that Sakura, and perhaps Naruto, was unaware, it was a story she disliked discussing.

"Would you like me to explain?" Kakashi interrupted, almost as if reading her exact thoughts.

The dark-haired kunoichi shrugged. The coldness in her eyes had been replaced by a glint of indifference.

"The Tsubaki clan is mostly composed of women, as you probably already know, Sakura," Kakashi began, keeping his voice and eyes low in case he attracted Sasuke's attention. "They have one primary rule, which is to keep their face hidden no matter what the case."

"Tsubaki kunoichi are trained from a young age," Kakashi continued, his one good eye gliding across the pages of his book even as he spoke. "Thus, the kunoichi are normally exceptionally skilled and are difficult to defeat. However, the other half of the clan law is that any Tsubaki kunoichi must wed the first man that glimpses her face, no matter what the circumstance. Normally, it is determined through a challenge, but there are other ways…"

"But what does that have to do with Sasuke-kun?" inquired Sakura, clearly perplexed.

"The Uchiha clan, being an extremely powerful and at the same time, a proud clan, attempted to 'own' the Tsubaki clan," Kakashi answered coolly. "Defeating a Tsubaki kunoichi was tough, and the Uchiha clan hoped to overcome the entire Tsubaki clan so that their fame and power would rise. Obviously, the members of the Tsubaki clan revolted, which caused, the Uchihas, clearly the stronger clan, to annihilate the Tsubakis. And that brings us to… today."

"But," Kakashi continued, shutting his book and placing it aside. "I do hope the five of us, as big of a group as we are, get along despite erm… past experiences. Though it seems like Naruto and Sasuke have reconciled a bit…"

Sure enough, the two remaining Genin approached Kakashi with dust, scars and bruises against their faces, their arms around each other's shoulders as they supported one another.

"Well, well, it looks like the two of you managed to accomplish the task at the same time," Kakashi said, smiling faintly. "That's all for today then; we'll continue tomorrow morning—same location."

* * *

><p>Miyako yawned lazily, running her fingers through her hair as she pulled it out of a ponytail. It was raining heavily outside, and the wind had intensified during the previous hours, causing the tree branches to gleam beneath the soft moonlight, creating shadows that danced occasionally across the cold floor of the dimly-lit apartment.<p>

In tomorrow's lesson, of course, she would not be so lucky as to have already acquired the concept. Kakashi would be hoping for his students to progress quickly in time for the Chunin exams, and there were several skills other than chakra control to be learned. Her stomach gave a nervous twitch as the thought of Sasuke crossed her mind—there was no doubt that he was the stronger one, even if today's lesson had shown otherwise.

Miyako stifled another yawn and flipped the light switch, letting the darkness engulf her surroundings. She reached behind her neck, underneath her dark hair, proceeding to untie the knot beneath. Wearing the mask all day had always been uncomfortable, but after fifteen years of the same routine, she had grown used to it. Still, it seemed much more comfortable sleeping without tightly binding half her face.

Her eyes snapped wide open as she suddenly sensed another presence in the room. Hands flew to the weapons that hung in the pouch at her waist, but the culprit was already behind her. A hand shuffled beneath her hair, reaching for the loose knot. Terrified, she thrust an arm at the villain's face, only to have him seize her almost idly. In an instant, the tall figure had pinned her trembling body against a wall, her wrists held tightly in his grip.

He leaned closer, and the moonlight shimmered briefly against his prominent smirk and dark eyes. Miyako froze, recognizing the figure instantly. She stood, breathless, as he leaned closer to her face, so close that she felt his hot breath against her cheek as he chuckled.

"I must say I hoped for better," Sasuke sneered in her ear. "A little closer and I would've already removed that mask."

"What do you want?" she snapped, her heart pounding wildly as she tried to stand still. The mask was already so close to being unfastened - one sudden, unpredicted move, and it would surely fall.

His smirk widened. "I thought you were somewhat impressive after today's lesson… but you completely let your guard down… look at you—you're shaking so hard… scared?"

She snarled angrily and thrust her knee upwards, hoping to collide it against some vulnerable point of his, but it was of no use. Sasuke blocked her knee with his own leg the instant it had risen, further immobilizing her.

"It's only a matter of time before I take off that mask," he breathed, his black eyes gleaming with amusement. "It was too easy… you really are beneath us Uchihas, the way your defense is so poorly constructed."

"I thought you loathed me," Miyako retorted, her legs shaking with rage, "so why on earth—"

"Don't you know how nice it'd be for everyone to hear that the Uchiha heir managed to defeat the last known member of the Tsubaki clan?" Sasuke replied, chuckling softly. "You know how easy it'd be to reconstruct my clan? Even though defeating you didn't require much…"

Miyako laughed bitterly. "How embarrassing would it be for everyone to hear how you merely waited until my guard was down before attacking me... if it's power you want, then make it fair… unless, of course, you want to be known as a coward, Uchiha."

The firm grip around her wrists loosened. Miyako's stiff hands immediately flew behind her neck, tightening the knot as she glared at the shinobi before her.

"All right, then," he sneered, scoffing underneath his breath. "We'll see how good you fare a second time. _Do_ try and put up a bit of a fight next time though."

She blinked, and he was gone. It took her several seconds to recuperate and digest all of what had just happened. Her wrists ached, and she massaged them slowly as she stared into the blank darkness, into the wispy shadows along the walls of her room. His smirk stood out notably in her mind, causing a sort of bizarre hatred to simmer throughout her body, and then she shuddered unconsciously at the thought of what would've happened if he hadn't listened to her request and instead proceeded to remove her mask.


	3. Apathy

**Chapter 3 : Apathy**

Several incidents happened over the course of the next week, including a rather perilous, S-rank mission trip to the Land of the Waves, where the team miraculously managed to defeat Zabuza Momochi, one of Kirigakure's Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and his right hand man, Haku. In the course of the extraordinarily dangerous mission, Miyako had received the news from Naruto that Sasuke, who, during the battle had astoundingly activated his Sharingan, had been killed by the child prodigy Haku while trying to protect Naruto from further harm. Two hours later, however, after everything had sorted itself out, it was to Miyako's greatest dismay to hear that Sasuke was, in fact, still alive.

The S-rank mission that had accidentally been assigned to team seven was undoubtedly the most intense and exhilarating task the Genin had all week, and as they soon came to realize, all month. After the missions office realized they had completely jeopardized the lives of four young Genin and their sensei, they made sure to assign strictly D-rank missions and nothing higher.

At the same time, the relationship between Uchiha Sasuke and Tsubaki Miyako had worsened since their previous encounter in Miyako's apartment. The two Genin made it a priority to snap at one another whenever possible, though both got along with the rest of their teammates perfectly well. Their hostility towards each other was evident, and, as Kakashi tiredly pointed out one evening, the bickering and bantering was indisputably getting in the way of their teamwork.

"If you two hadn't been arguing, we would've been finished with the mission ages ago," said Kakashi wearily, "and I wouldn't have had to pay to spend the night here…"

Sasuke snorted, and Miyako sighed. Personally, she too was growing a bit tired of their quarreling. Kakashi stifled a yawn and waved his students off the front porch, indicating that they go into their separate rooms to sleep.

Miyako glanced over at Sasuke, half expecting him to continue his rant from earlier today about how the Tsubaki clan was beyond pathetic, but her frustration seemed to vanish instantly. His head was raised towards the dark, empty sky, and the lustrous, full moon gleamed against his coal-black eyes, eyes that were filled with an inexpressible amount of sorrow.

He seemed to have sensed her curious stare, for he stood up abruptly, causing Miyako to turn her gaze away immediately. Without another word, the two of them stepped inside.

* * *

><p>Moonlight shimmered against through the opaque, blurred window, allowing several beams of silvery light to illuminate the dark room. The strings of light glowed majestically as they gently hit a pair of closed eyes. Her chest rose slightly as she slept. The moonlight intensified, and she stirred; her eyebrows furrowed she felt the light against her eyes, and she awoke, squinting.<p>

Miyako ran her fingers through her tangled hair and shifted to the left in order to avoid the brightness. She blinked blankly as she adjusted her vision to the dark, now feeling wide-awake.

She turned her head sharply as she heard silent, solid footsteps slowly pass by her room, but relaxed upon hearing the footsteps pass by her room. Miyako reached back behind her head and tightened the knot of her mask as she threw her covers aside; ever since Sasuke had appeared out of nowhere in her room and attempted to remove her mask, she had thought it best to sleep with her mask on, despite it being rather uncomfortable.

She had barely walked a few feet before she recognized the back of the figure sitting outside along the edges of the porch. Her heart tensed in irritation, but she ignored it and began walking towards him, an action her brain interpreted as bizarre.

It was a good deal cooler outside, especially now that the full moon had risen to its highest extent in the ink-like, starless sky. Sasuke turned his head slowly as he heard her approach him, his charcoal colored eyes blending almost perfectly with the night sky. Surprisingly, he said nothing upon recognizing her, and he continued to stare wordlessly at the radiant moon, even as she sat down on the porch, making sure to distance herself.

The two were silent for several minutes—the wooden clock in the hallway ticked by incessantly.

"Nights like these," Sasuke began quietly, closing his eyes, "remind me of that one night…"

His voice trailed off into the soundless night. Miyako said nothing, but she nodded slightly, aware of the meaning behind his ambiguous statement.

For once, he had not opened their conversation with a crass remark, and for that, some part of Miyako was grateful. Perhaps it was the fact that he was half-awake. Of course, she still abhorred the Uchiha, but the lonesome, abandoned flicker in his clouded eyes seemed to temporarily mute the displeasure she normally felt towards him.

Sasuke scoffed softly, his lips twisting upwards into a weary smirk. "It's been years… and just from looking at the full moon reminds me of that vivid night. The fact that I'm so much weaker than he is… it sickens me."

"Well, I'm sure you could improve drastically just from replacing the time you insult me with training," she said coolly.

Sasuke chuckled, and for the first time, he turned to face her, his eyes glinting with indifference.

"Tomorrow, then," he said, smirking.

Miyako turned around. Sasuke looked fairly different without his forehead protector; it made him look slightly older.

"Tomorrow…?"

"We'll settle things tomorrow," answered Sasuke, pushing himself backwards and leaning against a pillar.

"Tch," she scoffed, rolling her eyes and looking elsewhere. The aggravation towards him was beginning to return. "You Uchihas and your pride… you're challenging me fairly, then? No more tricks?"

The familiar smirk returned. "Of course."

"Then what happens if I win?"

"Impossible," he replied as he shook his head, causing Miyako frown with resentment. He was always underestimating.

"If I win," she said coldly, "you won't say another word about the Tsubaki clan."

Sasuke laughed softly. "Is that all you're asking for? Whereas when _I_ win, you have to succumb to everything I say… seems like a win-win situation for me, especially—" he smirked. "Especially since I'll be the one to emerge victorious, anyway. I do hope you're ready."

"You're the challenger," replied Miyako icily as she stood up, glaring at her teammate in disgust. "Who are you to think I'm unprepared?"

And without another word, she swept away, her black attire disappearing into the darkness of the hallway within an instant. Underneath her mask, her lips were curled into a snarl as she reentered her room with nothing but his spiteful smirk imprinted in her mind.


	4. Defeat

**Chapter 4 : Defeat**

Golden rays flooded the small room, illuminating the dark silhouette sitting in the corner. Brown eyes blinked anxiously as Miyako realized that the inevitable had finally arrived.

* * *

><p>It still required another day to return to Konoha; the mission the team had been assigned to the previous day had been located at the very border of the Hidden Leaf Village. As a result, Kakashi woke them up exceedingly early, and after a quick breakfast, team seven sluggishly began their journey home.<p>

There wasn't a tremendous amount of talking between the shinobi as they leaped from branch to branch, their arms constantly moving as they brushed stray, deep green leaves out of their eyes; most of their conversations consisted of blinking and stifled yawns, which prevented the others from realizing that the tense silence between Sasuke and Miyako was somewhat suspicious.

By late afternoon, Kakashi decided to call it a day, partly because the summer sun had intensified in heat and the attention span of the Genin were becoming more and more lethargic. The steaming sun was still high in the sky as Kakashi ordered the four Genin to collect firewood as he propped himself against the trunk of a pine tree, reading lazily in the shade.

As they gathered the last of the firewood, Sasuke caught Miyako's eyes and indicated that they leave with a curt nod. She did as he suggested, following him away from the campfire, where Kakashi was chuckling at the fact that Sakura had somehow managed to catch three times as many fish as Naruto.

"Ready?" he smirked, turning his head and meeting her eyes, his dark eyes wide with excitement.

Miyako merely nodded. She blinked apprehension and exhaustion from her eyes.

"Let's see," he mused aloud. "If I manage to remove that mask of yours, I win, mm? If you completely immobilize me, your win... all right?"

She scoffed as she pulled the stray strands of her dark hair into a higher ponytail. "Whatever you want, Uchiha."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he analyzed his strategies. Her mask covered nearly all of her nose, and the edges slanted downwards against her cheekbones - perhaps the easiest way was simply to attack from the front and pull the cloth down rather than fumble with the knot behind...

Miyako's lips curved into a smirk as she watched him analyze her. The anxiety she had felt moments before had been replaced with a rush of confidence and adrenaline; she could win. Although the Sharingan would most likely pinpoint and predict a good majority of her taijutsu, the one advantage she had was the fact that Sasuke had only recently activated his _kekkei genkai_. Bloodline limits tended to mature with each gradual use, and ever since his first use with his Sharingan eyes a month ago in Land of the Waves, Sasuke hadn't needed to use it since.

At the same time, speed was her primary asset. As a Tsubaki, Miyako was extremely familiar with controlling the chakra system, and as a kunoichi, she was lightweight. As a result, there was a considerable amount of chakra she could send to her legs.

"Ready?" asked Sasuke again, his lips curling into that familiar, confident smirk. "Then... let's begin."

Several shuriken whizzed towards his face the instant he finished speaking. Sasuke dodged them idly, but the smirk on his lips faltered as he realized that she had vanished between the miniscule amount of time it took for the shuriken to plant themselves in the tree trunk behind him.

His head whipped around as he heard the sound of more shuriken. Sasuke leaped out of the way, hurling a handful of kunai towards the direction the shuriken had come from, only to realize that she had been gone from that spot several seconds ago.

Sasuke bit his lower lip, his dark eyes darting back and forth, flashing at even the slightest hints of movement. Surely he had expected her to be relatively fast, simply because she was a female, but he had predicted it to be merely average. In addition, after he had snuck into her apartment, he had assumed that her speed was nothing to worry about. There was no doubt that Miyako had hid the range at which her speed could reach during the time she was in front of him.

As much as he hated to admit it, Sasuke had greatly underestimated her agility. If he truly wanted to win, he couldn't let her off easy.

Coal-black eyes melted into a perfectly patterned crimson set of Sharingan. His vision acuity increased instantly, and he smirked as he immediately noticed her location. Of course, with the Sharingan, his speed was certainly formidable as well.

He raised his hands and performed several jutsus with his hands in rapid succession. Sasuke tilted his head back, inhaled deeply, and exhaled a tremendously long breath of fire, completely cinching the trees in front of him.

"_Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu_," said Miyako coolly, doubling over in mid-air and landing several feet in front of Sasuke, completely unharmed. "I've already seen it several times... but it seems you've decided to take me seriously now that you've started to use your eyes."

He smirked, and within a blink, disappeared. Miyako tensed, and her coffee eyes were wide with attention as she glanced around, attempting to sense his presence.

She felt something brush against the back of her hair and swung around instantly, swinging her right leg upwards. Sasuke ducked and seized her left wrist, gripping it tightly as his free hand reached at her face.

Miyako reached behind her shoulder and swung something at his face so quickly that he had no choice but to let go. He leapt backwards, only to see Miyako twirling a long, black sheath in her hand, a weapon he had often seen carried on her back, but never yet used. Red eyes narrowed.

"A katana?" he inquired quietly, peering at the sheath as she continued to twirl it skillfully among her fingers. What he saw through his Sharingan indicated otherwise. "No... two kodachi, isn't it?"

She answered his question with a mere smirk. Sasuke chuckled.

"You can't win," he said. "Sure, you might be fast, but these eyes follow all your movements... quit acting so confident, Tsubaki."

There was a sound of metal scraping against wood, and Miyako lunged at him. Sasuke's eyes widened significantly as he realized her speed had increased several fold from minutes before, making it more difficult for his Sharingan to follow her movements. His hands performed the _Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu_ steps hastily, and she had no choice but to redirect her path as the gargantuan stream of fire dived towards her.

He recognized the outline of her figure behind the tree to the right of him and threw several kunai with explosive notes towards the branch. The explosion was deafening, and he chuckled as he sensed his success.

There was a shuffling of feet behind him, but before he could turn around, a strong hand wrenched his dominant hand backwards. Sasuke blinked, and recognized the glint of a single kodachi in his peripheral vision, pointed centimeters away from his throat.

"It's over," she said lightly. Her voice was almost melodic.

He merely smirked, and the figure she had so tightly gripped in her hand vanished in a pillar of white smoke. She cursed, giving him credit for being able to prepare a double so quickly, her eyes and ears both alert as she listened for irregular sounds.

Crimson eyes flashed before her, and she barely had enough time to dodge. Miyako thrust the hilt of one kodachi backwards, colliding it with the back of Sasuke's neck and causing him to cough in surprise. Tiny, red droplets splattered the murky dirt below, and she panted slightly, beads of sweat dripping past her forehead as she watched Sasuke wipe the blood from his chin, Sharingan eyes flashing.

Her kodachi whizzed through the air, meeting his kunai with a clang. Both Genin were attacking mercilessly, making the best use of every opportunity possible.

"Not bad," he sneered, leaning closer to her face as he pushed both her kodachi back. There were still hints of red along the edge of his jawline from where he had spat out blood earlier. "Just not good enough."

"Oh?" she jeered in return, replacing the credence in his eyes with surprise. "Surely you don't believe this is the fastest I can go, Uchiha."

* * *

><p>The noise had attracted Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi, all of whom were watching from behind a thick bush several feet away. The three of them were far enough so that the duelers in front of them would not realize their presence as long as they remained still, yet close enough to see the innate details of the fierce battle.<p>

"Miyako-chan's fast," Naruto commented blankly, trying to keep his voice low. He had already been told off multiple times by Sakura to keep his mouth shut. "How come she was never this fast when she was with us, Kakashi-sensei?"

"She was most likely saving it for something like this," he replied calmly, his one, good eye flickering between his two students as they fought, watching the relentless battle carefully in case things got out of hand. "Plus, the Tsubaki clan focuses on chakra control, and directing chakra to your legs increases your speed, obviously. The more chakra you send, the faster you are. Though, of course, there is a limit your legs carry."

"She's never used those swords either," Sakura pointed out, wincing as Sasuke managed to catch her off guard by elbowing her chin.

"They're called kodachi," Kakashi explained. "They're shorter than katanas, but longer than daggers."

"Then who's better?" Naruto asked candidly, turning his bright blue eyes to Kakashi.

Kakashi said nothing. He had clearly been wondering the exact same question the entire time, yet he himself had no idea. At first thought, he would've guaranteed that Sasuke would have the upper hand, but the amount of speed Miyako had hidden from her teammates indubitably surprised him. Even during the mission in the Land of the Waves, she hadn't found it necessary to tap into the reserved amount of chakra regarding speed. For this reason alone, she must've regarded Sasuke as a truly formidable opponent.

The sun had nearly set, its blood red, tawny orange and golden rays seeping into the azure sky-hoping, watching, waiting.

* * *

><p>It had been nearly an hour since the fight commenced. Both had dirt, sweat, and blood smeared across corners of their faces, yet the fierceness in the two sets of eyes, ebony and russet, continued to glisten. There were too many movements, too many evasions.<p>

Miyako twirled her kodachi dexterously in her hands, gripping the handles tightly as she lunged towards Sasuke once again, concentrating her chakra flow solely on her legs.

_Focus, focus, focus_, he repeated to himself as he gritted his teeth. He didn't understand how she was evading his attacks, how she was still managing to attack him despite the fact that he could see. Could the Sharingan not follow movements of that prodigious speed?

He strained his eyes, forcing them open even though they had begun to water in protest. He couldn't blink; he couldn't afford losing this one, precious moment.

Suddenly, something changed. Her movements were beginning to slow down. Was she running out of chakra? The Sharingan could sense chakra, and the sizable amount of cobalt surrounding her legs indicated otherwise. He grimaced and continued to strain his eyes, hoping, praying for a miraculous opening of some sort.

Miyako vanished from her path, but this time was different. This time, he could follow her. This time, he could _see_.

Sasuke ducked the second Miyako slashed her twin kodachi at where his head had been moments before. His crimson eyes blazed with attentiveness as he swung his leg upwards and felt it collide against her stomach, sending her flying backwards into a tree so forcefully that the branches shook, and handful of leaves fluttered down where she sat, panting heavily.

Her kodachi. Where was it? Miyako blinked several times, but her vision remained just as blurry and distorted. Her head ached terribly, and she felt a cool, thick liquid ooze down the back of her neck. Her ribs felt broken-cracked, if she was lucky-but her legs were what bothered her the most. Not only was there a gnawing, aching pain within her calves, but they were trembling uncontrollably, which would make further movement exhausting.

Sasuke took a step towards her, causing her to remember her current environment. Miyako lifted her hands from her stomach, eyes darting wildly for her kodachi. Her amber eyes stopped as she located one several feet to her left.

Without another glance at the Uchiha prodigy, she lunged for the handle, gasping in pain as her ribs screamed in protest, praying that her hands would reach her weapon before the Uchiha did.

Her hand stopped mid-air, merely inches away from the hilt. The expression in her eyes conveyed the emotions alone; they were wide in incertitude, perplexity, shock.

Miyako flipped her hand over, and something glistened in the dark. She froze.

From a slight distance, they were nothing short of invisible, but the wires were indisputably there. She turned her head towards her other hand, only to realize it had also been restrained.

"H-how...?" she stammered, her voice faltering as she continued to stare at her hands in disbelief.

Sasuke approached her slowly, his breaths short and ragged. "When I kicked you."

"No," she said, shaking her head in impatience. She winced in pain, and swallowed. "How... how could you read my moves back then?"

She lifted her head, her mind brimming with questions. Brown met crimson. Suddenly, her stomach lurched, and she understood.

The Sharingan pattern in his eyes had become much clearer: the dark, curved dots blending perfectly against the pellucid scarlet. The reason was unmissable-his Sharingan had matured yet another level, during only its second use. He had performed the impossible, the unimaginable, an action nothing short of a true Uchiha genius.

A wry smirk appeared, accentuating the thin cut against his bottom lip. Sasuke leaned forwards, squatting down in order to bring his face to level with hers, and the blood-red eyes flickered and faded into black. A hand reached out, and Miyako shivered.

She pulled against the tight strings as his hand came closer to her face, causing the smirk on Sasuke's face to extend.

"A futile attempt," he said softly, watching her struggle uselessly. "It's over, Tsubaki."

The fingers were at the edges of her mask now. An involuntary shudder ran past her spine, and her insides went cold.

"D-don't," she stuttered, leaning back.

Sasukee merely scoffed; he was clearly drained - there was hardly enough chakra in his system to continue straining his Sharingan.

His fingers trailed against the side of her face as he removed the cloth. She was scared to think, scared to move, scared to breathe.

Silence. Sasuke pulled the mask away, his eyes flickering in surprise as he stared at what had been revealed.

Her cheeks were flushed from the heat, and tiny streaks of blood littered the corner of her chin. Miyako sat still, her chest heaving in and out as she breathed painfully. Her brown eyes had dulled significantly - in astonishment, in defeat.

The early hints of moonlight gleamed against her slightly rounded face, accentuating the feminine features Sasuke had never quite noticed before he had removed the mask. Even Sasuke had to admit that her countenance was exceptionally lovely.

The palm of his hand smoothed against her cut cheek, causing yet another shudder to run through her pain-ridden body, despite the warmth of his touch. Sasuke leaned closer, his charcoal eyes glinting with awe.

"Beautiful," he whispered, his fingers continuing to trail along the edges of her soft skin.

And without another moment's hesitation, he leaned in, continuing to glance at her unfamiliar face with half-open eyes, tilted his head slightly, and pressed his lips gently against hers.


	5. White Shadows

**Chapter 5 : White Shadows**

There was a sound of quiet, murmuring voices, but the enveloping blackness didn't seem to rescind. The mumbles gradually became louder, as if someone had turned the volume slightly up; eyelids fluttered several times before opening, and then the shadows vanished.

There was a brief flash of pink hair, and Miyako found herself staring blankly into a pair of large, olive orbs. Sakura flashed her a smile of relief.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she called. "She's awake!"

Several pairs of feet shuffled noisily into the room. Miyako heaved herself upwards and gasped in pain; the agonizing discomfort in her ribs and legs reminded her of the unfortunate events that had occurred. All of a sudden, the dead weight in her chest seemed much more irritating than her wounds.

"Ah," Kakashi said, gripping her shoulder and gently pushing her back against the soft, white sheets. "Don't be too rash-it's only been two days, your wounds will open up."

Her delicate fingers shuffled beneath the blanket and located the clean bandages wrapped around her waist. She pressed them gingerly, and flinched.

"Are they broken?" she asked, bringing her arm to her head and rummaging it through her tangled hair.

Kakashi shook his head. "Bruised. Badly, that is. It might be difficult for you to move... at that speed, of course... impressive."

Miyako scoffed and said nothing. Bitterness flooded into her narrowed, coffee eyes. There was nothing spectacular about her speed, especially not after how easily Sasuke had countered it. The weight seemed heavier, causing the sullen feeling to plummet into her stomach.

She hadn't quite registered the consequences of her loss. Sure, she understood the regulations, but the simple comprehension of being defeated seemed distant.

Miyako bit her lower lip, covering her face with her two hands, despite the stinging strain that the stretch put on her wounds. For her, it was impossible to defeat Sasuke a second time. His Sharingan would continue developing, but her speed certainly wouldn't. The amount of effort she had put into working them two days before had already exceeded her normal limit. If he could read her movements now, he would be capable of reading them forever.

Disappointment surged through her aching body, and she scoffed in disbelief. Out of all the shinobi, all the clans, all the people she disliked, it was him. An _Uchiha_. Accepting the concept was bizarre, insufferable, and practically disgusting.

Her hands smoothed past her face, and she felt them brush against her chapped lips. Auburn eyes flashed anxiously, and she turned her head immediately towards Kakashi.

"Where's my mask?"

Kakashi sighed deeply, his one, onyx-colored eye flickering uneasily. "He has it."

A pause.

"Tch," she scoffed. "Out of all people... _him_."

There was another seemingly long pause, though it must've lasted for merely a handful of seconds. Kakashi stood up and patted a gloved hand reassuringly against her forehead.

"There's a hot spring a few meters east from here," he said as he headed towards the door. "Why don't you go with Sakura and wash up a bit? As long as you don't strain yourself, it should do your wounds some good. If we depart in an hour or two, we should reach Konoha by dusk."

Miyako sighed heavily, staring fixedly at the ceiling. Tiny white shadows glistened briefly against the dark wood.

* * *

><p>The two kunoichi walked side by side, their boots shuffling through the thick grass that was coated with the early morning dew. One of Miyako's arms was wrapped across Sakura's neck; Miyako placed her weight gingerly against her teammate's shoulder, hoping to put less of a strain on Sakura, but the pink-haired kunoichi didn't seem like she was struggling to support her.<p>

The beckoning warmth of the hot spring could've been sensed from several feet away. Miyako leaned against a boulder, pressing her cut hands against the warm rock, and relaxed her shoulders. Slowly and carefully, she slid off her dark robes and stepped in, eagerly embracing the amiable warmth. It engulfed her skin soothingly, easing a good deal of her worries away.

She heard a small splash across from her, and her hazel eyes flickered over the misty pillars of steam. Sakura stretched her limbs and leaned her head back against a boulder lazily.

Neither of the two had said a word to each other the entire journey. Miyako lifted her head nervously, racking the back of her mind for a conversation topic. To her surprise, Sakura's glittering, jade eyes were already on her.

"Do I look weird?" she asked, her pink lips parting into a slight smile.

"N-no," stammered Sakura nervously. "It's just... different, that's all."

A few seconds of silence. Slowly, the smile slid off Miyako's face, and her auburn eyes stared elsewhere into the thick steam.

"... I'm sorry."

The two words were spoken so softly that it surprised Sakura, and she raised a worried eyebrow. Miyako determinedly avoided the puzzled emerald orbs.

"For... what happened," she replied awkwardly. Her voice had trailed to a softer tone, and Sakura had to strain forward to listen. "I know you liked him... a lot."

Sakura lifted a hand and waved her apology way, sending tiny, sparkling droplets of warm water into the air. Her light pink lips parted into an anxious smile.

"Oh, that," she laughed nervously, her cheeks flushing. "It's nothing... now that he has you, I mean... well, I can't just take him away from you after all that's happened."

"Why not?"

The details of her encounter with Sasuke two days before returned as she recalled their match, and the idea of drowning herself suddenly seemed quite tempting.

Sakura shook her head slowly; there was a guilty shimmer in her olive eyes. "I've loved him for ages, yet he still has no interest in me." She lifted her head and smiled sadly. "You'll have to learn to love him, I suppose."

The glimmer among the dark chocolate eyes seemed to vanish instantly. Her lips curled into a slight snarl, and her eyebrows furrowed in repugnance, causing Sakura to immediately regret her words.

"Never," she spat.

Another awkward silence followed. Her single-worded retort and tone of voice alone allowed Sakura's interpretation of the enmity in Sasuke and Miyako's relationship to become much more precise.

She heard the sound of water dripping, and the green eyes flickered upwards once more. Miyako sighed heavily and ran a soaking wet hand through her damp, black hair.

"I'm sorry," she said again, opening her eyes, eyes that shone in exhaustion and remorse. "I'll just have to live with it."

* * *

><p>"Tsubaki."<p>

Miyako turned, her hands running a towel through her damp, straight hair. Despite the fact that she recognized the deep, quiet voice, her aching body stiffened instinctively upon meeting his dark onyx-colored eyes.

She felt something rustle against her arm, and noticed that Sasuke had shoved her mask, which had been washed, into the palm of her right hand. Amber orbs flickered in curiosity, and it suddenly occurred to her that Sasuke's face was incredibly close to hers.

"Wear it from now on," he said just as she opened her mouth to ask.

"... Why?"

He leaned so close to her that his charcoal eyes blocked even her peripheral vision. Sasuke's hand crawled up against the wooden wall she was pressed against, and the beginning hints of a smirk began to appear.

"Because," he whispered slowly, looking down at her amusingly as he noticed her body tense in fear. His soft lips brushed past her cheek, and Miyako suppressed a shudder. "I don't want anyone else looking at what's mine... only I can see your face."

Miyako said nothing. She blinked and looked elsewhere, clearly determined not to meet his eyes. A hand forced her chin upwards almost instantly, and she flinched subconsciously.

"Is that understood?" Sasuke breathed dangerously in her ear.

She swallowed and gave a curt nod. Now that he had claimed her, she found it much more difficult to hurl a string of insults at him.

"It's funny," he said quietly, his smirk widening as he continued to stare into the pool of amber. "You were so headstrong and stubborn before... but now, you're so submissive. The amount of respect you have towards your clan is so respectable... Miyako."

The way he uttered her name and the sarcastic tone he said it with sent shivers of disgust through her body, and she repressed a snarl, through her emotions must've been shown through, for that smirk became even more prominent. He held a strand of wet hair, wrapping it delicately around his finger.

"It's about time, isn't it?" he chuckled. "Say my name."

"Uchiha."

He laughed softly, and leaned even closer so that he had now completely enclosed her personal bubble.

"Do as I say, Miyako."

Her tongue went through some difficulty as she attempted to wrap his name around it. Miyako's hands clenched into fists, and her heart sank in vexation as she realized how utterly pathetic she looked.

"Sasuke," she finally whispered, extremely bitterly.

"Better," he admitted, tilting his head as his lips briefly met hers, causing her eyes to widen. "Just remember that I won you, I own you... and thus, you belong to me. You're futureless without me... so let's just get along, mm?"

Sasuke did not wait for her reply, as caustic as it would've been. He pressed his lips against hers, and she shuddered as he pushed her damp hair back, further immobilizing her. A wave of nausea flooded through her as he continued to kiss her, clearly enjoying her obedience, and it took everything to keep the tiny tears from falling as his contemptuous voice echoed distinctly in her head.

"_I won you, I own you... and thus, you belong to me."_


End file.
